Chislehurst now forms part of the London Borough of Bromley, but in 1853, when the church of St Mary was built, it was a village in Kent. Prior to the building of the church, the Catholic population of Chislehurst would have been small, although a number of Irish immigrants had found employment as quarrymen and farm labourers in the surrounding area. In the year 1851, the newly formed Diocese of Southwark recognised the need to provide a Mass centre and was looking for a suitable location.
Life in the Chislehurst parish changed considerably in 1871 with the arrival from France of the exiled Emperor Napoleon III, with the Empress Eugenie and their son, the Crown Prince, Louis-Napoleon. By the time of his exile, the Emperor was in poor health, and he died two years later. His funeral was conducted at St Mary’s Church by Bishop Dannell, the second bishop of Southwark. Because there was little space in the church for a tomb, the sarcophagus was installed in the sacristy.
26 май 2024
